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This weekend’s rate of spending is less frantic than Boxing Day, when a record £4.46billion was spent.

Discounts are understood to be at record levels – and even bigger reductions from this weekend are set to boost spending further as retailers try to shift remaining stock, MoneySavingExpert.com said.

Midweek snow delayed some spending until this weekend as the freeze kept people from the shops.

Spending until schools go back next week will also be propped up by the increasing trend of people giving IOUs on Christmas Day, for a purchase after Christmas rather than before, due to the increased discounts after December 25.

Armies of Chinese and French shoppers have also helped to increase Christmas spending as record numbers of overseas visitors flocked to British stores.

Chinese shoppers make up the biggest percentage of non-EU Christmas shopping visitors to the UK.

France provided the highest number of European shoppers, the Centre for Retail Research said.

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Huge price cuts triggered higher spending this Christmas overall

December sees a giant 12.5 per cent of the whole year’s retail spending, almost double that of January, with 6.8 per cent, April with 7.2 per cent and August with 7.3 per cent, their figures showed.

But coming days are “heart in the mouth time” for struggling retailers battling to continue trading, experts said.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: “More money is being spent over the Christmas period this year.

“December is an even bigger spending month than a year ago. Almost all the population has been on holiday for a week. Many have been shopping, helping boost spending up to New Year. Bad weather such as snow delays slowed spending by a couple of days.

“Overseas shoppers are important at Christmas, especially for London. Chinese shoppers save for years to come to the UK and splash out.

“From Europe, people from France in particular come to Britain’s Christmas sales and numbers of both EU and non-EU tourists will be up.

“For UK shoppers, Brexit worries have eased. Many shoppers have not had a pay rise for some time in real terms, but inflation of Christmas goods is half the three per cent general rate and interest rate rises don’t affect shoppers with fixed-rate mortgages.

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Spending is expected to tail off rapidly in January

“But this period is heart-in-the-mouth time for struggling retailers. It is the time when spending targets must be met. Spending will tail off rapidly in January. It’s not like 10 years ago when the sales went on until mid-January.”

Fung Global Retail Tech said: “Christmas 2017’s total UK retail sales will climb by around five per cent year on year.

“Growth will be split roughly 50/50 between rising prices due to inflation and a real increase in the amount of goods purchased.”